The Rich Cultivator

Chapter 784: 784. White Dragon Tower

Darknow City.

Unlike ordinary cities scattered across the continent, Darknow City had never welcomed mortals. Every person living within its walls was a cultivator or someone directly serving one. The city’s location was unique, standing only a few hundred kilometers away from the infamous Dark Forest Society. Because of that, ordinary kingdoms rarely dared interfere with its affairs.

Normally, the city was already bustling with cultivators from every corner of the region.

Today...

It was even more crowded than usual.

Thousands upon thousands of cultivators filled every street, teahouse, restaurant, and inn. Flying swords, flying beasts, and luxurious spirit ships continuously descended outside the city gates, bringing more visitors every hour.

Everyone had come for the same reason.

A mysterious building that had been under construction for an entire year was finally opening its doors.

No one knew how the White Merchant Group had managed to complete such an unbelievable project without anyone discovering its true appearance beforehand. Throughout the year, enormous illusion formations had concealed almost everything from the outside world.

Only today had those formations been lifted.

The moment they disappeared...

Every cultivator in the city stood frozen.

Towering before them was a structure unlike anything the cultivation world had ever seen.

It wasn’t a palace.

It wasn’t a pagoda.

Nor was it one of the massive mountain-top halls that powerful sects were famous for.

It was a gigantic tower made of gleaming white stone and spirit crystal.

A skyscraper.

The colossal structure pierced the heavens themselves, disappearing beyond the clouds. Standing at an astonishing nine hundred meters, it completely dwarfed every other building in Darknow City.

Its foundation alone occupied over one hundred and five thousand square meters, making it less like a single building and more like an entire district enclosed within elegant white walls.

Even Nascent Soul cultivators couldn’t help staring in disbelief.

"What... is this?"

"I’ve never seen architecture like this."

"Is this really a merchant headquarters?"

"How could humans construct something this tall?"

Voices filled the streets as countless people craned their necks upward.

The tower’s appearance was breathtaking.

A gigantic white dragon wrapped itself around the entire skyscraper from the very bottom to the highest floor. Its claws gripped the walls while its body spiraled upward as though protecting the building. The dragon’s mouth remained open near the summit, giving the illusion that it would swallow the heavens themselves.

Even from miles away, the sculpture radiated a faint draconic aura.

Rumors spread almost instantly.

Some claimed the sculpture had been carved by a Dragon King.

Others believed a genuine dragon had transformed into stone.

Eventually, someone revealed the truth.

The White Merchant Group had supposedly mixed diluted dragon blood into the paint coating the sculpture.

The revelation shocked everyone even more.

Dragon blood was one of the rarest treasures in existence.

Even a single drop could trigger bloody wars between sects.

How could a merchant organization possibly possess enough to paint an entire dragon?

No one knew.

Only Tyler himself understood the answer.

He had indeed purchased a single drop of diluted dragon blood from the Dark Forest Society using an absurd amount of contribution points.

As for the remaining amount...

That was simply another miracle produced by the mysterious cauldron.

One drop had quietly become enough to cover an entire skyscraper.

The result exceeded even Tyler’s expectations.

The dragon now possessed a faint spiritual pressure that ordinary cultivators could clearly sense whenever they approached the tower.

It wasn’t enough to harm anyone.

But it was enough to inspire awe.

Above the grand entrance floated several enormous golden characters.

White Dragon Tower.

The name alone carried an imposing presence.

As the gates officially opened, the waiting crowd immediately surged forward.

However...

The surprises had only begun.

Inside, visitors found themselves standing within an enormous shopping complex.

Instead of cramped shops lining narrow streets, every floor was spacious and beautifully decorated. Spirit lamps illuminated the halls while waterfalls flowed through carefully designed indoor gardens. Rare spiritual flowers bloomed beside elegant walkways, creating a peaceful atmosphere unlike anything seen in traditional marketplaces.

There were restaurants. Auction halls. Weapon stores. Pill shops. Formation workshops. Libraries. Entertainment districts. Private meeting halls. Even luxurious residences.

The higher floors contained lavish apartments and penthouses available for long-term rent.

Each residence came with private gardens, meditation rooms, and spirit gathering formations.

Many wealthy cultivators immediately became interested.

The biggest surprise, however, wasn’t the stores.

It was transportation.

"There... there are no stairs?"

A cultivator stared blankly at the center of the building.

Instead of climbing hundreds of floors, visitors simply stepped onto floating stone platforms.

Formation arrays activated beneath their feet.

The platforms silently rose toward whichever floor they desired.

The entire process happened smoothly without consuming any noticeable spiritual energy from the passengers.

"This..."

"Amazing..."

"A formation elevator..."

"The White Merchant Group actually thought of something like this?"

Even experienced formation masters couldn’t hide their amazement.

Every corner of the tower seemed to challenge common sense.

Just when people believed there couldn’t possibly be another surprise...

The White Merchant Group announced its newest product.

Dragon Boats.

Affordable flying boats.

The announcement spread through the tower like wildfire.

Unlike traditional flying boats, which only wealthy families and powerful sects could afford, these Dragon Boats were designed for ordinary cultivators.

Their prices were less than half the current market rate.

Some models were cheap enough that even Qi Refining cultivators could realistically save enough money to purchase one.

At first...

Nobody believed it.

Then demonstrations began outside the tower.

Dozens of sleek white flying boats gracefully soared through the sky.

They were smaller than conventional flying ships but astonishingly stable. Their formation efficiency consumed less spiritual energy while maintaining excellent speed.

The crowd erupted.

"I’ll buy one!"

"Me too!"

"Take my spirit stones!"

Within a single hour...

Every Dragon Boat prepared for the grand opening had completely sold out.

Even the reservation lists extended months into the future.

Many merchants immediately realized the terrifying implications.

The flying boat market... Was about to change forever.

...

Far above the bustling crowds...

On the highest floor of the White Dragon Tower...

Lay Tyler’s private residence.

Unlike the luxurious apartments below, this place resembled an independent mansion built upon the rooftop itself.

A beautiful garden surrounded the estate.

Rare spirit flowers bloomed throughout carefully maintained pathways while ancient trees gently swayed under spiritual winds.

Near the center rested an enormous swimming pool.

However...

It wasn’t filled with ordinary water.

Instead, the entire pool contained highly diluted spiritual liquid.

Simply breathing near it accelerated cultivation.

Despite being located in the open air, anyone flying past the tower would see nothing unusual.

Powerful illusion formations concealed the entire rooftop.

From outside...

It appeared to be nothing more than another section of the building.

Tyler stood quietly near the pool while observing countless formation nodes floating invisibly around the estate.

Several formation discs rotated beneath the rooftop.

Thousands of interconnected runes continuously reinforced one another.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"The arrays are functioning perfectly."

He extended his spiritual sense.

"Even a Golden Core cultivator wouldn’t be able to see what’s hidden here."

He paused before adding thoughtfully,

"As for Nascent Soul cultivators..."

"I’ll still need to be careful."

Fortunately, few Nascent Soul experts would willingly approach territory controlled by the Dark Forest Society unless they wished to start a war.

That fact alone acted as another protective barrier.

Several beautiful maids respectfully stood nearby.

Most had once been servant disciples of the Dark Forest Society before Tyler recruited them into the White Merchant Group.

Unlike before, they now wore elegant white uniforms embroidered with silver dragons.

Their lives had improved dramatically.

"Hmm..." Tyler folded his arms. "Even if this territory belongs to the Dark Forest Society... There are always fearless idiots in this world."

Almost as though responding to his words...

His eyes narrowed.

"...Here it comes."

The distant sky suddenly distorted..An enormous flying ship burst through the clouds at terrifying speed.

Instead of slowing down... It accelerated. Its target was obviously The White Dragon Tower.

The maids screamed, "It’s going to crash!"

They instinctively collapsed onto the ground, their faces turning pale from fear.

The flying ship continued descending Closer, Closer and Closer.

Then—

BOOOOOOM!!

A deafening explosion echoed across Darknow City. Just before impact, an enormous transparent barrier materialized around the upper section of the tower..Millions of formation runes flashed simultaneously.

The flying ship smashed directly into the barrier. Instead of damaging the tower....The ship itself shattered into countless pieces.

Flames erupted across the sky.

Wooden fragments, burning sails, and twisted metal rained toward the streets below.

Inside Tyler’s rooftop mansion, Nothing moved. Not even a single teacup trembled.

Tyler calmly watched the burning wreckage without changing his expression.

"The defensive array held."

Far below.... Panic quickly transformed into disbelief.

"The tower survived?"

"Not even a crack?"

"How powerful is that defensive formation?"

"That flying ship exploded instead!"

Countless cultivators stared upward with mouths hanging open.

What should have been a devastating terrorist attack had instead become a public demonstration of the White Merchant Group’s defensive capabilities.

About ten minutes later...

Tyler’s communication talisman vibrated.

A voice echoed from within.

"Boss, our investigation is complete."

Tyler activated the talisman.

"What did you find?"

"Our people traced the attackers. It appears the Malsi Cult is responsible."